Editor's info:A startling and mesmerizing blend of jazz, indie/experimental rock, and classical minimalism, the album is the first studio recording by a composer and bandleader who Hank Shteamer of Time Out New York says “draws on the full spectrum of modern rock, jazz and classical music with his band, Secret Society. Yet his complex, emotionally charged pieces handily transcend pastiche … the album ought to not only raise Argue’s profile, but also serve as a reminder that big-band jazz needn’t be a fossil.” This release, which takes its name from a John Philip Sousa quote about the dangers of music technology, features new definitive studio recordings of material Argue and the band have been developing since their first gig in 2005. Argue’s Secret Society is well-known for the virtuosity of the individual band members as well as the unique and groundbreaking sound of the compositions and the band as a whole, and Infernal Machines offers solos from his stable of incredibly talented band members, including trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, saxophonists Mark Small, Erica vonKleist, and New Amsterdam’s own Sam Sadigursky, and trombonists James Hirschfeld and Mike Fahie.

Infernal Machines has been called “addictive not only for its architecture, but for its fetching way with color” (DownBeat), “a wickedly intelligent dispatch from the fading border between orchestral jazz and post-rock and classical minimalism” (New York Times), and “maximalist music of impressive complexity and immense entertainment value” (Village Voice). James Hale has remarked that “Argue deserves his place alongside Schneider, Hollenbeck and other contemporary big band arrangers who are looking beyond traditional notions of what a large jazz orchestra should, and can, sound like” (Jazz Chronicles). Infernal Machines also garnered a 2011 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Large Ensemble Album, among placement on over 70 best-of-2009 lists.

All About Jazz - ocena * * * * *The reverb-drenched cajon rhythm, subtle electric guitar washes and lush horn refrains that open Infernal Machines, the studio debut of Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, introduce the sound of a big band like no other—proving that the critical acclaim lavished upon this eighteen-piece ensemble since their first gig in 2005 has been entirely justified.

Despite boasting an album title quoting John Philip Sousa on the dangers of technological music advancements, Argue's Secret Society nonetheless embraces the future, eschewing swing band revivalism in favor of a contemporary electro-acoustic approach. Drawing inspiration from classic stalwarts like the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra as well as pioneering post-rock bands like Explosions In The Sky and Tortoise, Argue tastefully incorporates electric guitars, Fender Rhodes and electric bass into traditional big band instrumentation, extending the innovations of such visionaries as Don Ellis, Gil Evans and George Russell.

Straddling the pastoral opulence of Maria Schneider's Orchestra and the visceral brio of Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra and Satoko Fujii's various big bands, Argue has succeeded at creating a magnificent chimera. His harmonically rich blend of contrapuntal horn voicings, atmospheric electronic textures and post-minimalist rhythms surpass the early fusion experiments of his predecessors, yielding a fully integrated sound world as current as it is timeless.

Honing his writing and arranging skills under the tutelage of legendary jazz composer Bob Brookmeyer, Argue balances the voluminous power of a big band with the subtle nuance of a small combo, revealing elegant charts bolstered by dramatic gestures. The braying horns and staccato electric guitars that accompany James Hirschfeld's brash trombone on the visceral finale to "Habeas Corpus" ascend to a logical climax rather than the blustery fanfare of a hackneyed coda. Embracing a full spectrum of moods, the anthemic riffs that accent Ingrid Jensen's probing trumpet solo on "Transit" dynamically contrast with the languid rustic scrim that descends on Sebastian Noelle's psychedelic electric guitar musings on "Redeye."

Periodically summoning the ensemble's full sonic potential, Argue conjures raucous electric guitar interludes, rousing horn swells and pulverizing rhythms to fortify these episodic tunes. His forte, however, is sketching impressionistic vistas such as the Mingus-like Mediterranean blues of "Jacobin Club" or the bucolic tone poem "Redeye." A masterful tunesmith, his dramatic sense of pacing borders on the cinematic, and his instinct for arranging multiple voices into colorful pitch sets exudes kaleidoscopic detail worthy of Ellington.

Secret Society combines rising stars and relative newcomers, but the real star is Argue. The only other contemporary composer who embraces the diverse possibilities of a band this size is Maria Schneider (a fellow Brookmeyer graduate). Although the halcyon days of the big bands are long past, Infernal Machines stands defiant, updating the big band tradition for the new millennium while presenting exciting possibilities for the future.By TROY COLLINS